Games Tax relief‘constantly under review’ says Secretary of State

“We welcome Jeremy Hunt’s pronouncement on Games Tax Relief. Whilst, we were delighted that the Government made changes to the R&D tax credits which we campaigned for in last week’s Budget, the introduction of TIGA’s Games Tax Relief is the one measure which would really power the UK video games sector forward.

The UK games industry is competing on a very uneven playing field. Many of our overseas competitors benefit from tax breaks for games production. The UK does not. The Canadian games industry grew by 33 per cent in terms of headcount between 2008 and 2010. The UK games industry declined by 9 per cent.

“TIGA will continue to strengthen the case for Games Tax Relief and clearly focus this tax relief. We will also continue to campaign for this measure– one that has cross party support in the House of Commons and which is supported by the Scottish National Party and the Scottish Labour Party.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

About TIGA:

TIGA is the trade association representing the UK’s games industry. The majority of our members are either independent games developers or in-house publisher owned developers. We also have games publishers, outsourcing companies, technology businesses and universities amongst our membership. TIGA was awarded‘Trade Association of the Year’ and the‘Member Recruitment Award’ at the Trade Association Forum Best Practice Awards 2010. TIGA has also been named as a finalist in the 2010 Chartered Management Institute (CMI) National Management and Leadership Awards in the category of‘The Outstanding Organisation of the Year Award (SME)’. TIGA is an Investors in People organisation.

TIGA's vision is to make the UK the best place in the world to do games business. We focus on three sets of activities: political representation, generating media coverage and developing services that enhance the competitiveness of our members. This means that TIGA members are effectively represented in the corridors of power, their voice is heard in the media and they receive benefits that make a material difference to their businesses, including a reduction in costs and improved commercial opportunities.

For further information, please contact Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO on 07875939643: or emailrichard.wilson@tiga.org; or contact David Hodges on 02070911653

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